Kasumi Tales
by Lord CrutchCricket
Summary: A series of short self-contained stories based on Kasumi Goto and a male Infiltrator Shepard.


Note: This short is written in an experimental "indirect" method of narration. I'm trying it out for size. If it doesn't work, further shorts will be more conventionally told.

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><p><strong>Natis Incident Report- Additional Files<strong>  
><strong>Appendix E: Initial Witness Testimonial Transcript<strong>

Subject: Ronald Ellis

Race: Human

Status: Refugee (former hostage)

Interviewing Officer: Shan Kessel (Serial: 8842ZW)

Preliminary notes: Subject was incarcerated and held hostage along with 30 other colonists on Natis after an attack by freelancing mercenaries. Mercenaries were neutralized by an unknown agency of indeterminate number, which freed the hostages and set off a distress beacon before disappearing. What follows is subject's initial account of the night of his release.

ELLIS: They kept us in the dark. Even during the day, always in the dark. They herded us into storage sheds and boarded the windows. Some of us wouldn't see light for days… if we were lucky. But they were looking for something, see. They kept bringing one or two of us out at a time. And they'd take us into the marshal's office **[pause]** and you'd hear the screams. The [takes breath] cries to stop. And you never knew if that unlucky bastard would ever come out. **[shaky breath]** If the screams were cut too short, you knew they fucked up. Merciless savages they were, and sometimes they hit too hard, cut too deep. **[pause]** Sometimes the screams went on too long. And you knew that poor soul wasn't coming out neither. Oh they might haul his carcass back to the sheds, but he never came back. Not really. And the women…

OFFICER: What happened on the night of your escape?

ELLIS: Escape? Nobody goddamn escaped! But we got rescued. They came. They came and killed them [**chuckle].** They killed them all.

OFFICER: How did it happen?

ELLIS: They were gonna torture me again. They dragged me out of the shed in the middle of the night. I hadn't eaten in 5 days. They never brought us food. Not really. They just hung hard meats off a mech and sent it in there. They programmed it to attack us, the sadistic bastards. Only it had no arms. So it just ran at us throwing off sparks from its stumps. And those sons of bitches watched and laughed. **[strangled cry]** they laughed!

OFFICER: Do you need a moment?

ELLIS: No… no I'm fine. **[deep breath]** They hauled me out of the shed. Usually they only take us out during the day. They know the brightness is too intense after so long in the dark. But they were getting impatient. They went through just about everyone and they still didn't find whatever damnable thing they were after. So they bring me out. Drag me to a concrete block just outside the medical bay. They force me on it and start tying me down. I can't stop shaking so one of them smacks me. My head rings. Blood and sweat run down my face, into my eyes, stinging. I can't see. One of them asks me something but I can't make out what he's saying. He hits me and starts to ask again. But before he can finish… there was an explosion. Pieces of something hot and wet hit my back. And then he falls. **[grins]** he falls without a head.

ELLIS: The mercs are freaking out now. Everyone's yelling. Running off, firing their guns. I can hear one or two of them shouting for order. I managed to slide off the block but my hand was still tied. Another explosion at the far end of the camp. I tug furiously at the knots, hoping to unravel them before one of them notices me. Another one goes down, with a hole in his head. I look up fearfully and catch the eye of the gang leader. He looks right at me and shouts 'get him!' But there's something weird going on behind him. Even in the dark I can see a kind of…shimmering. Suddenly a shadow appears behind him. It…stabs him with something, something that glows. And the merc's corpse suddenly crashes to ground like a sack of bricks.

OFFICER: What was this shadow? Can you describe it?

ELLIS: It was a woman. A cloaked woman.

OFFICER: A woman?

ELLIS: She was small, dressed in dark colors. A hood hid her features. I couldn't see her face. But her eyes. Her eyes seemed to glow as well, glow from the hood.

OFFICER: Implants?

ELLIS: No, not glow like a machine. Glow like… like she could see into your soul… and her eyes can reflect it. It was beautiful… and terrifying all at once. I… can we take a break?

**[Interview recesses for 15 minutes at this point]**

OFFICER: Are you ready to continue?

ELLIS: Yeah.

OFFICER: What happened after this cloaked woman killed the mercenary?

ELLIS: She disappeared. Shimmered out of existence. Like a ghost.

OFFICER: You're describing optical camouflage?

ELLIS: Maybe. I don't know tech stuff. I just know she was gone. The mercs went crazy. Started firing in all directions. Another one just dropped. **[Subsequent questionings suggest subject is probably referring to an unknown sniper]** They weren't paying attention to me anymore. Suddenly there was glaring light all around me and a loud bang. My eyes burned.

OFFICER: A flashbang grenade.

ELLIS: **[after explanation of flashbang grenades] **Yeah, yeah it was like that. I'm lying there, blinded with my ears pealing when I feel someone tugging at me, trying to drag me off. The hands are different this time; they're smaller than any of the bastards that manhandled me before. They have strength but they're not rough. But I start thrashing anyway. And then she speaks. It's barely a rushed whisper. But I hear it through the ringing and gunfire. 'I'm getting you out!' **[pause] **So I stopped fighting then. She helped me to my feet. My eyesight was starting to return but everything was still just streaks and blurs. She helped me get inside the general store and gently lowers me behind the counter, out of sight. 'Stay here,' she said. 'You'll be safe'. She started to pull away but somehow I managed to grab her hand. 'Don't let them find me!' I begged.

ELLIS: She leaned in closer then and I saw her eyes once more. They really seemed to see through me, see down to my very soul. But it wasn't so terrifying this time. Because I could see things too, in her eyes. I saw strength. I saw anger. I saw the death of those animals out there. But I also saw kindness, hope. And laughter. I couldn't see her face in the darkness of the store but I could just make out her lower lip, painted I suppose, stretch into a smile. 'They won't find you. Or anything else, ever again.' To me, that smile was the reassurance of a guardian angel. To those mercs, it would've been the sneer of death.

ELLIS: She left me then, disappearing through the door to the outside. I still feared for my life. But I also knew I had to see more of her. So I crawled to the window and peaked outside. There were two groups of mercs, covering each other. She moved like she _was_ the night, appearing like a wraith behind the first group. She took two of them down before they even noticed she was there. The third one turned, but before he could aim his gun, she had swept his legs and slammed him to the ground. I saw a gun materialize in her hand and there was no pause before she opened fire, point blank.

ELLIS: The second group had noticed her now and began firing. She leapt out of the way and ducked behind a loader. But she didn't stay there. She… you won't kid me?

OFFICER: No.

ELLIS: Promise? Promise you won't kid me?

OFFICER: I won't kid you.

ELLIS: She seemed to dance towards her targets. **[cough] **I know that sounds crazy. But it wasn't like she was dodging the bullets. It was like… she moved by her own patterns, like… like there were paths only she could see. And the mercs… I've seen them shoot at animals. Hell they shot us too. They hit every time. They knew how to kill. But with her… it was like they were firing everywhere she wasn't. I've never seen anything like it. She fired bursts from her gun as she moved. Every round found a target. Every merc dropped. Every merc but one. Her gun clicked empty. And she just… stopped. Stopped like she was a toy that had wound down.

ELLIS: I could see the merc's grin. Even in the gloom I could see his glee as he raised his rifle. He was going to kill her, my guardian. I opened my mouth to shout a warning, a denial, anything. And suddenly he was flung violently to the side. And that's when the second shape appeared.

OFFICER: A second rescuer?

ELLIS: He was bigger than she was. As big as the mercs. Covered from head to toe in black armor. I… I couldn't see his face. He had a helmet, fully closed. The kind with electronic optics. He had huge weapons strapped to his back and he had a giant pistol in his hand. He emptied the clip in the fallen merc as casually as opening a beer. I knew then that though the shadow woman was my protector, the armoured man was my vengeance. Though she had killed to protect me, he was Death itself. He…

OFFICER: Mr. Ellis, can you tell me anything more concrete about the armoured man? Anything we can use as identification?

ELLIS: No, I told you I couldn't see his face. His armor was jet black. Apart from the electronics, there was no break, no markings…wait. I remember something. After he killed the last merc, they met in the middle of the deserted street. One of the mercs had apparently hidden on the roof of the barber shop, waiting for a shot. He stood up now with what looked like a rocket launcher. The armoured man raised his right hand and a jet of flame shot towards the merc. It… **[chuckle]** lit that bastard up like a Christmas tree! He fell screaming and twisting as he burned. And they just watched as still as the night...

ELLIS: Once the screaming had died down, I heard the armoured man speak. He said 'You should've been more careful. You left yourself open.' And she said 'I wanted to. I wanted them to see what it was that killed them'. The man replied 'It was too reckless. What if that merc had fired sooner?' And she said 'Then you would've been there sooner. You've got my back Shep. And I've got yours. Always.' I felt like cheering but… I didn't want to draw any more attention to myself.

OFFICER: Mr. Ellis….

ELLIS: I know, quit hassling me. Well, in the glow of the burned dog I saw the letters 'N7'. That's some kind of marine rank right?

OFFICER: Mr. Ellis, are you sure about this? Are you sure you saw 'N7' on the man's armor?

ELLIS: Sure as I'm talking to you right now, Officer Kessel. And I'll tell you something else…

OFFICER: That'll be enough for now Mr. Ellis. We can continue this discussion tomorrow.

ELLIS: I may not know who the armoured man was but I know her name. They talked more. The adrenaline was fading and I felt faint. It wasn't long before the darkness overtook me. But I stayed awake long enough to hear her name. He called her…Kasumi.

[Transcript Ends]

Officer's notes: Subject was held in captivity for over a week, tortured and half-starved. Initial assessment suggests deep psychological damage is present and may persist. This will have to be verified by a professional. Regarding his account, several details do not match with evidence discovered on Natis. Firstly, none of the mercs discovered have any type of incision marks on their back. There is no evidence to suggested a blade (or power blade) of any sort pierced their armor. There are strange hairline fractures at the back of the neck of some of them but these are more in line with deteriorating armor as opposed to forceful insertion. Secondly, while most died from small arms fire (pistols and semi-automatic rounds) a few bodies were found perforated by what appears to be high-velocity anti-tank rounds. There are few portable weapons that are both practical to use in infantry combat and would fit these types of rounds. Subject has described only two "rescuers", both of them human. None of the available weapons are fireable by humans. It is possible a third rescuer was present, a krogan. However none of the other reports mention seeing a krogan. Further reports on ballistics are needed to verify or deny this claim.

The third suspicious claim made by the subject is the N7 designation on codename "Shep". N7 is the highest level of training an Alliance Marine can receive. Such designation is not handed out lightly and few can claim it. It is possible the markings on "Shep" to be forgeries perhaps but for what purpose? Strangely all available data on any N7 operations in the area as well as any using a code word of "Shep" are classified. Alliance Command will not authorize disclosure.

What little data the military has provided also makes no mention of anyone named "Kasumi" having ever served in the Alliance. Other inquiries into the private sector have not yielded promising results. The most notable records have been found relating to a jewel heist two years ago where the thief used a moniker of "Kasumi" but any relevance to this investigation has been henceforth dismissed.


End file.
